in progress out there, when a ship is made to conform to a standard against
every rule they’ve ever known, when captains in this Fleet are subtly
encouraging their troops to the harassment of mine, and they’re taking to it, in
the absence of another enemy. The Fleet as a whole hasn’t existed in decades,
but that was our strength… the latitude to do what had to be done, across all
this vast distance. Homogenize us and we become predictable. And few as we are…
then we’re done.”
“Amazing,” Mazian said softly, “that somehow you end up arguing for separation
of the crews, when you’re the one complaining about lack of discipline. You’re
an amazing sophist.”
“I’m being ordered to fall in line, to change every policy and order that exists
on my ship. My troops perceive that as an insult to Norway, and they resent it.
What else do you expect, sir?”
“The attitude of the troops rather reflects that of the officers in charge and
of the captain, doesn’t it? Maybe you’ve encouraged it.”
“And maybe what happened in that bar was encouraged.”
“Sir.”
“With all respect—sir.”
“Your men moved in and removed prisoners from the custody of the troops who
performed the arrest. Credit-snatching, doesn’t it seem so?”
“Removed prisoners from a drunken body of libertied troops in a bar.”
“Dock headquarters,” Edger muttered. “Tell it clear, Mallory.”
“The troops were drunk and disorderly in your dock headquarters, and one of the
prisoners involved was Norway property. There was no commissioned officer in
this dock headquarters. And the other prisoner was valuable and one my make-work
operation on the docks would find useful. The question is why the prisoners were
taken to that so-named headquarters at all, instead of to the blue dock
facilities or to the nearest ship, which was Africa.”
“The arresting troops were reporting to their sergeant. Who was present, when
your troop major broke into the place.”
“I suggest that that attitude is contributory to the atmosphere in which Maj.
Janz was shot. If that was dock headquarters, Maj. Janz was fully entitled to
walk in there and assume command of the situation. But he was told outright on
entering that the so-named dock headquarters was staked out as Australia
territory; the Australia sergeant present did not object to that
insubordination. Now is a troop headquarters to be the private preserve of one
ship, or what? Can it be that other captains are urging their crews to
separatism?”
“Mallory,” Mazian cautioned her.
“The point, sir: Maj. Janz gave a proper order for surrender of the prisoners to
his custody and received no cooperation from the Australia sergeant, who
contributed to the trouble.”
“Two of my troopers were killed in that exchange,” Edger said tautly, “and how
it started is still under inquiry.”
“From my side also, Captain. I expect the information momentarily and I’ll see
that you get a copy when it goes in.”
“Captain Mallory,” Mazian said, “you make that report to me. At the soonest. As
for the prisoners, I don’t care what you do with them. Whether they’re here or
there is not the issue. Dissension is. Ambition … on the part of individual
captains of the Fleet… is an issue. Whether you like it or not, Captain Mallory,
you will walk in line. You’re right, we’ve operated separately, and now we have
to work as a body. And certain free spirits among us are having trouble with
that. Don’t like taking orders. You’re valuable to me. You see through to the
heart of a matter, don’t you? Yes, it’s Sol. And by telling me that, you hope to
be on the inside of councils, don’t you? You want to be consulted. Want to be in
the line of succession, maybe. That’s very well. But to get there, captain, you
have to learn to walk in line.”
She sat still, returned Mazian’s stare. “And not know where I’m going?”
“You know where we’re going. You said as much.”
“All right,” she said quietly. “I’m not adverse to taking orders.” She looked
pointedly at Tom Edger and back again to Mazian. “I take them as well as others.
We may not have worked partners in the past; but I’m willing.”
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